a justice department memo spells ow the position of the obama administration. now the memo, justifies the targeted killing of an american who is considered a senior operational lead of al qaeda or associated group and poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the united states. want to bring in our pentagon correspondent barbara starr, joins us live here. the policy now made public. is there any reaction to the fact that now people, very clearly stated in the memo, know what it's all about? >> reporter: you know, i think this has emerged over the last couple of years, but you're right, suzanne, it is this memo that puts it out in black and white. if you're an american citizen, you can, in fact, be killed by your government overseas with no trial, no due process, if there is a -- some decision by the u.s. administration that you're engaged in terrorist activities. in fact the attorney general, eric holder, talked about this earlier today. i want you to listen to what he had to say. >> we say that we only take these kinds of actions when there's an immin